SHERIDAN, WY – The Laramie County Community College women's rodeo team had their best showing of the season as they hit the halfway point of the Fall season over the weekend in Sheridan, finishing in sixth place with 160 points in the highest scoring rodeo for all teams this season for the women's side.

The LCCC men also picked up 150 team points to finish in seventh place over the weekend.

"I think (the teams) are doing well," Head Rodeo Coach Dean Finnerty said. "They are all sitting on the edge of it trying to make things work so you can't take anything away from them. They are going for the win and that's all we can do is ask them to go for it every time they back it into the corner."

Shelby Derner was the lead Golden Eagle for the weekend with 110 points as the header in team roping was paired with 50 more from Breakaway to help the freshman to the Reserve All-Around title. Derner's best days in both events were in the short go.

In breakaway, Derner paired a 4.0 in the first go with a 13.2 on a broken barrier to finish fifth overall with 17.2 on two. Her 3.2 would have been the fastest time of the rodeo if she hadn't caught the barrier.

"Everything is just coming together and working out and I'm grateful for my coaches and my team," Derner said, adding that the sophomore year has had a better sense of comfort. "Traveling and knowing how to get there, knowing people when you get there, just knowing the game a little bit more makes you feel more prepared, and you aren't quite as blindsided coming in your freshman year."

The success was more prevalent in team roping where Derner and former Golden Eagle Thayne Kimbrough put a 9.3 down on their first go for sixth place before improving to a 9.1 on their second. That put the team in second in the average and in the short go.

Derner moved up to third in the Central Rocky Mountain Region standings for headers, building on an 80-point weekend in Riverton the week before at the Central Wyoming College rodeo.

"It's been a blast," Derner said of the season she's had with Kimbrough. "We started roping last spring and we had made some good runs, and this fall it's just kind of coming together so we are just having fun with it."

Those were the only points for the Golden Eagles on the women's side, although Shelby Derner came close with a 7.6 in the first go putting her in seventh in goat tying and her 7.9 in the short go was just off of the bubble as well.

There was another mixed team that made it back in team roping with William Warner and Cassie Shoemaker both picking up the tenth spot, but they missed on their short go steer and finished outside of the points.

On the men's side, Tate Miller continued his consistent season in bareback riding, picking up fifth place in the average after he posted a 68 on his first bronc for fourth in the first go. His 61 in the short go was seventh but he still came back with two rides in the average to pick up 20 more points.

"(Tate) has a lot of potential. If we can get him to move his feet a little bit more and be a little more aggressive on that front end, I think he will score well," Finnerty said.

Gage Davis picked up some important points in his pursuit of the all-around title. He picked up a third-place finish in the average after a 13.2 in the long go, he took advantage of only four good runs in the short go and his 13.7 was second in the go and moved him to third with a 26.9 on two.

Davis is contending in both tie down and steer wrestling, and said it keeps him looking ahead regardless of how things went on a weekend.

"I strike once in this event, strike another in that event, some time we will put them all together. It's good just to have some luck and to go out and have fun again," Davis said. "The fall is definitely a good starting spot to see how much work you are going to have to do in the spring."

The 90-point weekend moved the junior into eighth in the Central Rocky Mountain Region standings and is his first of the season in the event.

Cory Bomhoff also made it back in the event, and his 11.7 brought him 40 points in the first go, but he failed to catch in the short go and was forced to settle for sixth and 50 points on the weekend, moving him to fourth in the CRMR standings.

Chase Olson finished off the Golden Eagles who made it back for the short go with an opportunity in steer wrestling. The sophomore finished in fifth with a 6.6 on his first steer but couldn't stay on his short go steer and was left outside of the points for the average.

The goal at this time of year is points though, and LCCC has multiple athletes that are starting to appear as contenders for a spot in Casper at the CNFR in June.

"If they at least get a few points this fall, it at least keeps them motivated and positive about the spring and anything can happen in the spring. They can get a pile of points," Finnerty said.

The Golden Eagles will be coming back home for the Shawn Dubie Memorial Rodeo on October 11-13, with all of the events being held at the LCCC Arena on the campus in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

More information as well as ticket information can be found at www.golccc.com.